Work feeding devices



June 19, 1962 N. H. swANsoN 3,039,665

WORK FEEDING DEVICES Filed April 2, 1959 United States Patent O 3,039,665 WORK FEEDENG DEVCES Nils H. Swanson, La Grange, Iii., assigner to Western Electric Company, Incorporated, New York, NX., a corporation of New York 'Filed Apr. 2, 1959, Ser. No. 803,7{92 6'Claims. (Cl. 226-152) This invention relates to work feeding devices and more particularly to devices for advancing a strip intermittently.

It is often desirable to feed strip stock in intermittent steps rather than continuously, and in cases where the stock is fed to a punch press it is necessary to so advance the stock. Also, it is further desirable, in certain cases where a feed roller is used, to provide a roller which is not rigidly held in the intervals between feeding strokes.

One of the objects of this invention is to provide a novel and improved device for feeding strip stock.

Another object of this invention is to provide a device for feeding strip stock in intermittent steps.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a device having a driven feed roller which may be rotated manually between feeding strokes so as to facilitate the insertion of a strip into position to be advanced by the feed roller.

One embodiment of the present invention may include a pair of rollers which cooperate to advance a strip, one of the rollers having a piston movable back and forth in a cylindrical recess therein. The piston, which is fixed for translational motion only, is provided with a plurality of generally helical grooves in the cylindrical face thereof in which a plurality of spherical members arepositioned. The members are spaced in relation to one another by a retainer which is mounted yieldabiy about the piston face. As the piston moves in one direction the retainer is moved axially by frictional contact with the piston a distance to carry the spherical members into an `annular groove in the wall formingthe recess of the one roller. The roller is free to be rotated when the spherical members are within the annular groove. However, when the piston is moved in the opposite direction, the retainer moves axially with the piston by frictional contact therewith such that the spherical members are rolled into longitudinally extended pockets interconnected with the annular groove. As the piston continues its movement in this direction, the axial movement of the retainer is arrested when the members reach the end walls of the pockets land the piston slides within the retainer such that the members follow the helical grooves in the piston face to cause the one roller to rotate, thereby advancing the strip. Movement of the piston is effected in one direction by compressed air and in the other direction by a spring.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent by reference to the following detailed description and the accompanying drawing illustrating a preferred embodiment of the invention in which:

FIG. 1 is a sectional front view showing the stiilctural relationship of the various elements of a device embodying the principles of the invention;

FIG. 2 is an end view of the device showing the manner in which a driving roller and its associated mechanism is spring loaded downward onto a strip to be advanced;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary sectional view illustrating the configuration of grooves in a piston which actuates a driving roller; and

FIG. 4 is a sectional View taken on line 4-4 of FIG. 3 showing a plurality of spherical members which interconnect the piston and the driving roller.

3,@39i65 Patented .lune 19, 1962 ice Referring now in detail to the drawing, a base 11 is shown supporting an idler roller 12 across which a strip 13 is to be advanced intermittently. A driving roller 15 is mounted for rotation on a shaft 16 and cooperates with the idler roller 12 to move the strip 13. The shaft 16 is keyed to blocks 19 slidably mounted in slots 20 in the upper portion of the base 11 `and urged downward by compression springs 21.

The driving roller 15 is provided with a cylindrical internal recess 25 within which a piston 26 is positioned. The piston 26 is mounted slidably on the shaft 16 and is connected or keyed thereto by a pin 27 which extends through a slot 23 in the shaft 16, this connection preventing rotation of the piston. A compression spring 30 (FIG. 1) normally urges the piston 26 to the left as shown in FIG. l. Compressed air from a source 33 is passed into the recess 25 through a flexible coupling 24 and an opening 32 in the shaft 16 to move the piston 26 to the right against the action of the spring 30.

The driving roller 15 is provided with an annular groove 35 which lies in a plane normal to the axis of the shaft 16 and has interconnected therewith a plurality of spaced pockets 36 which extend axially from the groove 35, the annular groove and the pockets opening on the recess 25. The piston 26 is provided with a plurality of spaced grooves 4t) which are straight for a first portion of their lengths and helical for a second portion of their lengths. The grooves 40 are spaced a distance apart equal to the distance between adjacent pockets 36.

A tubular retainer 41 is positioned to slide between the piston 26 yand the driving roller 15 and is provided with a plurality of openings 42 in which are positioned spherical metal members 44. The spherical members 44 are positioned partially in the grooves 40 in the piston 26 and partially in the groove 35 or the pockets 36 of the driving roller 15 `and serve to interconnect the piston to the driving roller. The retainer 41 maintains the spacing between the members 44 equal to the spacing of the grooves 40 of the piston and the spacing of the pockets 36. The structure effecting the interconnection between the piston 26 and the roller 15 is disclosed and claimed in Patent No. 2,556,010, issued to N. H. Swanson on June 5, 1951, for Indexing Mechanism for Translating a Reciprocatory Motion Into a Step-By-Step Rotary Motion. l

In operation of the device, a strip 13 is inserted between the rollers 12 and 15 and compressed air is admitted to the recess 25 through the flexible coupling 24 and the opening 32 to move the piston 26 to the right (FIGS. l `and 3). As the piston 26 movesto the right the spherical members 44 are carried by the retainer 41 from the annular groove 35 into the pockets 36. As the piston 26 continues its movement, the axial movement of the retainer 41 is arrested by abutment of the members 44 against the end walls of the pockets 36. When the retainer 41 stops its movement axially, the piston 26 continues its axial movement and cams the spherical members 44 against the walls of the helical grooves 40 in the piston 26 to rotate the retainer `41 and with it the roller 15 to advance the strip 13.

The compressed air is -then released from the recess 25 to permit the spring 3G* to return the piston 26 to its normal starting position. During the first part of the movement of the piston 26 to the left, the spherical members 44 move axially with the retainer 41 to roll out of the pockets 36 into the annular groove 35. The axial movement of the retainer is arrested when the members 44 abut the wall of the annular groove 35,

and the retainer 4l is then rotated by camming action of the helical portion of the grooves 4t). The roller l5 is not rotated when the members 44 are within the annular grooves 35, the retainer 41 being rotated the incremental distance equal to the spacing between pockets 36 instead. Also, so long as the members 44 are in the annular groove 35, the driving roller can be rotated freely upon the members 44.

It is to be understood that the above-described arrangements are simply illustrative of the application of the principles of this invention. Numerous other arrangements may be readily devised by those skilled in the art which will embody the principles of the invention and fall within the spirit and scope thereof.

What is claimed is:

l. A device for feeding a strip, comprising a base, a irst shaft mounted iixedly to the base, lan idler roller mounted rotatively on the first shaft for supporting a strip to be advanced, a second shaft secured to the base spaced above the first shaft in a vertical plane including the rst shaft, a driving roller mounted on the second shaft for cooperation with the idler roller, said driving roller having an internal cylindrical recess therein, a piston reciprocably mounted in said recess, means for reciprocating the piston, and means mounted yieldably on the piston for axial movement with the piston and rotatable movement about the piston interconnecting the piston with the driving roller for rotating by cam action said driving roller after the piston is moved axially a predetermined distance.

2. A device for feeding a strip, comprising a base, a first shaft mounted iixedly to the base, an idler roller mounted rotatively on the iirst shaft for supporting a strip to be advanced, a second shaft secured to the base spaced above the first shaft in a vertical plane including the irst shaft, a driving roller mounted on the second shaft for cooperating with the idler roller to advance the strip, said driving roller having an internal cylindrical recess extending longitudinally therein, said driving roller also having an annular groove and a plurality of longitudinally extending pockets opening on said recess, a piston keyed to and slidably mounted for reciprocation on the second shaft in the recess in the driving roller and having a plurality of helical grooves in its outer surface, means for reciprocating the piston, a tubular retainer mounted yieldably on the piston for axial movement therewith and rotation thereon and positioned between the piston and the driving roller, the retainer having a plurality of spaced apertures around the periphery thereof, and a plurality of spherical members positioned in the apertures in the retainer and extending into the grooves in the piston and also extending into the annular groove in the driving roller, said spherical members being movable while positioned by the retainer from said annular groove into said pockets when the piston is moved so as to connect drivingly the driving roller to said piston whereby the roller is rotated incrementally by coaction of the members in the pockets and the piston grooves, and the retainer is rotated incrementally by coaction of the members when in the annular groove and the piston grooves.

3. A device for feeding a strip, comprising a base, an idler roller mounted rotatively on the base for supporting a strip to be advanced, a pair of blocks slidably mounted on the base, a shaft secured to the blocks, a driving roller rotatably mounted on the shaft and having a cylindrical internal recess extending along the shaft, a pair of springs engaging the blocks for urging the driving roller toward 4the idler roller, said driving roller also having `an annular groove and a plurality of longitudinal pockets extending from the annular groove, said groove and said pockets opening on the cylindrical recess, a piston slidably mounted for reciprocation on the shaft in the recess and having in the periphery thereof a plurality of helical grooves, a tubular retainer mounted yieldably on the piston for axial movement therewith and rotation thereon and positioned between the piston and the driving roller and having a plurality of spaced apertures around the periphery thereof, la plurality of spherical members positioned in the apertures in the retainer and extending into the helical grooves in the piston and the annular groove in the driving roller, said spherical members being movable While positioned by the retainer from the annlar groove into the pockets so as to connect the piston to the driving roller when the piston is moved along the shaft, a spring positioned in the recess in the driving roller for urging the piston in one direction, and air supply means interconnected with the recess in the driving roller for urging the piston in the other direction against the action of the spring.

4. A stock advancing mechanism comprising a base, a pair of spaced blocks slidably mounted in the base, means for resiliently supporting the blocks, a shaft `secured to and extending between the blocks, a drive roller rotatively mounted on the shaft and having a cylindrical recess extending longitudinally therein, a piston mounted for axial movement in said recess, a source of compressed fluid, a flexible coupling extending from said source to said recess to apply fluid to axially move said piston, said piston having helical cam slots extending along the peripheral surface thereof, means extending from the roller into said cam slots to translate axial movement of the piston into rotary movement of the roller, and means for supporting land guiding the stock against the drive roller.

5. A device for translating reciprocatory motion into rotary motion comprising a shaft, a pair of spaced bearing blocks for supporting the shaft, means for resiliently supporting the blocks for movement transverse of the axis of the shaft, a roller mounted for rotation on the shaft, the roller having a cylindrical recess extending longi tudinally therein, the roller also having an annular groove and a plurality of longitudinally extending pockets joining the groove, the groove and pockets opening on the recess, a piston slidably mounted for reciprocation on the shaft within the recess in the roller and having a plurality of helical -grooves in its outer surface, means. including a source of compressed air and flexible couplings interconnecting the source of compressed air to the cylindrical recess for applying air to the recess for reciprocating the piston, a tubular retainer mounted yieldably on the piston for axial movement therewith and rotation thereon and positioned between the piston and the roller, the retainer having a plurality of spaced apertures around the periphery thereof, 4and a plurality ofv spherical members positioned in the apertures in the retainer and extending into the grooves in the piston and into the annular groove and pockets in the roller, the spherical members Within the apertures being movablewhile positioned by the retainer from the annular groove into the pockets when the piston is moved for connecting drivingly the roller to the piston whereby the roller is rotated incrementally by coaction of the members in the pockets and the piston grooves, and the retainer is rotated incrementally by coaction of the members when in the annular groove and in the piston grooves.

6. A device for translating reciprocatory motion into rotary motion comprising a shaft, a pair of spaced bearing blocks for supporting the shaft, means for resiliently supporting the blocks for movement transverse of the longitudinal axis of the shaft, a roller mounted for rotation on the shaft having a cylindrical internal recess coaxial with the shaft, the roller also having an annular groove and a plurality of longitudinal pockets extending from the annular groove, the groove and the pockets opening on the cylindrical recess, Ia piston slidably mounted for reciprocation on the shaft and within the recess and having a plurality of helical grooves formed in the piston surface, a tubular retainer mounted yieldably on the piston for axial movement therewith and rotation thereon and positioned between the piston and the roller and having a plurality of spaced apertures around the periphery thereof, a plurality of spherical members positioned in the apertures in the retainer and extending into the helical grooves of the piston surface and the annular groove in lthe roller, the spherical members being movable while spacially positioned by the retainer from the annular groove into the pockets for connecting drivingly the piston to the roller when the piston is moved along the shaft, resilient means positioned in the recess Within the roller for urging the piston in one direction, and uid 10 power means in communication with the piston for urging the piston in the other direction against the action of the resilient means.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 796,416 Eager Aug. 8, 1905 2,556,010 Swanson June 5, 1951 2,660,427 Haller Nov. 24, 1953 

